MAN ON THE RUN FOR 19 YEARS NOW IN CUSTODY

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 — A one-time Chicago resident listed as a wanted fugitive for nearly two decades is now in the Cook County Jail, facing the felony drug charges he was originally arrested for in 1990, in addition to a deportation order once those cases are adjudicated, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced Wednesday.

Panfilo Juarez, 38, who is originally from the 10800 block of South Avenue O in Chicago, was charged in June 1990 with two counts of drug possession. He was ordered to be held on house arrest while awaiting trial, but he fled in March 1991.

In 2007, Dart instructed investigators who track down people who’ve fled house arrest, to enter all of their felony warrants into a national database so agencies would know to contact Cook County if the person was arrested. This year, Dart ordered the same investigators to begin culling case files to resolve years-old warrants. Among those was the warrant for Juarez.

The investigation found that Juarez, using an alias, was arrested in Wisconsin in May 2002 on charges of manufacturing and delivering cocaine. He spent 4 years and 6 months in prison and upon his release in 2003, he was immediately taken into custody by federal immigration officials for deportation to his native country of Mexico.

But in 2007, he was arrested by federal agents in Tuscon, Ariz. and charged with illegally re-entering the country. He was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and was set to be deported again on April 6. Because of his Cook County warrant, however, a hold was placed on his release and he was extradited back to Chicago this week.

Juarez not only faces the felony drug charges, but also a felony charge of violating his bail bond. Immigration officials have already placed a hold on Juarez, meaning they will be notified if he is released from Cook County Jail or the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Juarez’s next court date is set for April 27.